Well-heeled Hosiery Fans Try On Fogal

Pantyhose, stockings, body stockings and socks by Fogal (pronounced foe- GAHL) of Switzerland are the most expensive in the world. The scarcity, mystique and cost of these fancy leg coverings have earned the company a cult following.

And now Central Floridians can be part of this exclusive club. Patristel, a boutique at 180 N. Park Ave., Winter Park, began carrying Fogal stockings late last month. The only other shop in Florida that carries the line is Exit, in Miami Beach's Bal Harbor. The Florida stores are among only 30 Fogal outlets throughout the United States and Canada.

A basic, sheer pair of Fogal pantyhose sells for $10 -- easily twice as much as an average pair of hose. The rest of the 149 styles (in 105 colors) range from about $20 to more than $200 for a single pair of cashmere and silk tights. Most customers spend about $55 at a time for two pair, said Kate Sansom, the company's assistant

sales manager for the United States and Canada.

Hosiery is a big business. More than 26.6 million pairs of pantyhose are sold each week in the United States, according to figures provided by Du Pont, maker of Lycra and a leading producer of nylon, both of which are used in the manufacture of hose. By the end of this year, women are expected to have spent $2.36 billion on pantyhose -- more than what men and women spend annually on toothpaste and shampoo combined.

Although the 66-year-old Fogal line has been sold in the United States only since 1982, last year's sales totaled $17 million retail -- a 22 percent increase over the previous year, Sansom said. This year the company expects to do even better.

''People who know Fogal don't even look at the price,'' said Joan Wills, who in May opened the first Fogal store in Southern California -- on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. ''People will buy 12 pairs at once. The other day, a lady bought $1,100 worth of hose.'' Customers include Farrah Fawcett and Barbra Streisand

Although Patristel owner Patricia Brumlik hasn't advertised the stockings yet, she has sold about 70 pairs, at an average of $30 each, since late October. Word-of-mouth has brought customers from Tampa, Melbourne and other Florida cities to buy what Brumlik calls ''the best stockings in the world.'' (Patristel also sells several varieties of Fogal men's socks, including a silk and cashmere number that sells for $105 a pair.)

So, what does a $30 pair of stockings have that a $5 pair doesn't? For one thing, each pair of hosiery manufactured in Switzerland by this privately owned, Zurich-based company is made at least in part by hand. Fogal's unique, wide waistband is hand-sewn onto nylon for pantyhose and elasticized, thigh- high stockings that stay up without garters. The 2-inch wide band eliminates rolling and slipping and ensures a smooth line under clothing.

Customers also are buying service. Fogal outlets may be the only stores in the world that encourage customers to try the stockings on before purchasing them.

''For the prices we're charging, we don't want anyone to spend $200 and find out when they get them home that they don't fit,'' Sansom said.

One might be tempted to think that for these prices, Fogal stockings are guaranteed not to run. In fact, ''they're guaranteed to run,'' joked Brumlik. These luxurious, sexy stockings are perhaps more vulnerable to snags because they are exceptionally sheer and light. But Fogal owners treat their purchases with care.

For $17, customers purchase special cotton gloves designed to be worn when putting the stockings on, taking them off and washing them. The gloves are sold ''to protect your investment,'' Brumlik said.

Obviously, Fogal stockings are not for everyone. They appeal primarily to well-traveled, well-educated women who ''have money to burn,'' Sansom said. Most customers are wealthy, non-working women in their 30s and 40s, but more and more professional women are buying the sexy, lacy hosiery to wear underneath their pin-striped suits.

These executives ''like hiding their womanliness under their business suits,'' Sansom said. It's a secret way to feel sexy in a sexless environment. Sexiness is a major part of Fogal's appeal. Although all the styles are sheer and attractively designed, some are downright racy. The Carioca, for instance -- one of Fogal's best-selling styles -- is a $31 pair of pantyhose that uses cutouts to give the look of stockings and garters.

Sansom said that many of Fogal's best customers are men who buy the stockings for their wives and girlfriends.

''They're very sexy, and you feel very, very sexy wearing them,'' said Kris Gilman, a Fogal fan for more than two years. Gilman said she's thrilled that she no longer has to travel from Orlando to Bal Harbor to buy the stockings she says that her husband, Stewart, ''really loves.''

Gilman treats her expensive Fogals with respect. She doesn't wear them every day, and she is particularly careful when putting them on, taking them off and washing them. Gilman even stores her Fogals in the freezer to protect them against runs. (The National Association of Hosiery Manufacturers says freezing doesn't help, however.)

Though she admits that they're expensive and are purely ''a luxury, not a necessity,'' Gilman believes that Fogals are worth the price. ''Normally, I can't wait to get home and tear my pantyhose off. With these, I hardly know I'm wearing them. And they're the prettiest hose I've ever seen.''